TRAVEL NEVADA NEWS RELEASE
To honor all those who write, read and breathe poetry, the Nevada Arts Council is highlighting a new poem on Facebook every day, Monday through Friday, in April for National Poetry Month, a celebration established in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets.
The Arts Council’s Facebook page will also feature a range of published poets, from Nevadans to U.S. poet laureates. Poets.org offers an email of one new poem to your inbox each day during Poetry Month.
Publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools and poets around the country band together to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture during National Poetry Month. Thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations participate through readings, festivals, book displays, workshops and other events.
In Washington, D.C., Nevada’s own Christian Schunke, a senior at Yerington High Schoo, will represent the state in the national finals of the poetry recitation competition Poetry Out Loud April 29 and 30. In March, Schunke was selected the winner from more than 2,500 students who competed in the state.
The national finals are carried live at a one-time only webcast. Register at arts.gov and find tips on hosting a Poetry Out Loud Webcast Viewing Party. Follow the Poetry Out Loud National Finals online on Twitter at @PoetryOutLoud and #POL14. For more information on the event, webcast or viewing parties, visit arts.gov or call 202-682-5606.
The Nevada Arts Council, a division of the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, is the agency charged with ensuring that state and national funds support cultural activity and encourage participation in the arts throughout Nevada. In addition to providing hundreds of grants to arts and community-based organizations, schools, artists and local municipalities throughout the state, the Arts Council coordinates a variety of statewide programs and activities such as the annual Poetry Out Loud recitation competition for high-school aged students, traveling exhibits, artist residencies, workshops and cultural assessments. For more information, please visit the department’s website at nac.nevadaculture.org/.
